King Kong Photo

King Kong

Starring: Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody, Andy Serkis, Jamie Bell

Directed by: Peter Jackson

RS: 4of 4 Stars Average User Rating: 3.5of 4 Stars

2005 Universal Pictures Action

Here is the jaw-dropping, eye-popping, heart-stopping movie epic we've been waiting for all year. Peter Jackson follows up his Lord of the Rings trifecta with a stupendously entertaining redo of the 1933 classic that made him want to make movies. The director may be working off a borrowed dream, but he utilizes every technical advance of the last seventy-two years to reimagine the 100-minute black-and-white original as a three-hour explosion of color and FX miracles. What you see will spin your head six ways from Sunday. I've heard gripes from jolt junkies about the hour it takes for the tall, dark and nontraditionally handsome leading man to make his entrance. Jeez, people, that's what they call building a rooting interest in the characters. Naomi Watts as Ann Darrow, the role created by Fay Wray, had me at hello. Struggling to make it as an actress in Depression-era Manhattan (stunningly rendered, by the way), Ann signs on with master showman Carl Denham (Jack Black with just the right mad glint in his eye), hops on a tramp steamer and heads for an uncharted island where she will nearly get killed making her film debut. Carl also tricks Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody) on board to write the script. This playwright of the common people is a new character whom the script fails to develop, but Brody radiates a romantic intensity that makes him a natural to fall for Ann. It's the film's second hour -- the arrival on Skull Island (a scary marvel of design) -- that kicks the action into high gear. As Kong grabs Ann in his giant paw and fights off freakishly huge insects, spiders, stampeding dinosaurs and three T-Rexes, you'll feel like a kid again staring at the big screen, enveloped by the visual wonders. The mischievous wit and touching gravity of the script by Jackson and his gifted partners , Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, kicks in as well. Ann is not just a screamer; she has the smarts to know she needs Kong on her side. So she does her act for him -- dancing, juggling, somersaults. He yawns and knocks her down when he's bored, but when she sits with him to watch a sunset, he's a goner. So are we. Watts is absolutely fabulous -- funny, sexy and moving. And save a roar for Andy Serkis, whose movements served as a model for Kong, just as they did for Gollum in The Lord of the Rings. Watts and Serkis make you believe -- not in an erotic fantasy, but in tenderness and longing. In the film's last hour, you'll bawl like a baby when Ann follows Kong to the top of the Empire State Building as he swats away the biplanes out to stop him from sharing one more sunrise with his lady. The breathtaking beauty and terror of these scenes ends in Kong's deadly plunge. I was disappointed that Jackson shied away from Kong bouncing off the sides of the building as he did in the original, painful caroms I still remember feeling in my gut. But aside from a few cheesy effects (Kong sliding on the ice in a park), there's little to bitch about. Jackson, a wizard to rival Gandalf, ends 2005 on a note of pure exhilaration. "I'm quittin' the blues of the world," sings Al Jolson on the soundtrack. You won't find a better way to join him than King Kong.

PETER TRAVERS

(Posted: Dec 8, 2005)

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King Kong

Review 1 of 24

4of 4 Stars

King Kong is movie making at its finest. A modern marvel of films clocking in at about 3 hours. The Lord of the Rings were sometimes brutal to sit through but King Kong won't disappoint. Director Peter Jackson made a great choose when casting Jack Black. This broadened Black's film agenda even wider. When watching the movie you really feel like you're in 1933. Everything from the cars to the buildings to the wardrobe. A movie you could watch over and over again. It feels like three different movies as well. The beginning, middle, and end all have different motifs story-lines. If you haven't seen it yet go see it on blu-ray disc.

Aug 11, 2007 06:31:16

Review 2 of 24

1of 4 Stars

cartoonish;implausible; he is chewed on by three t rexes to no effect ,the guys harpoon doubles him over in pain,how many faces can watts make,her jaw musta hurt for weeks,even the second kong was better,jack black cant hold the the original guys jock.he is running full tilt w/her in his paw being slammed to the ground to no effect.the dawn of digital effects has ruined movie making and story telling

Dec 26, 2006 15:50:55

Review 3 of 24

1of 4 Stars

This stupid movie is bloated and overdone in every sense of the word. The first third in NY is OK, but we know what's going to happen, so they didn't need to drag it out so much. Every shot in every scene of the middle third on the island is so ridiculously excessive I wanted to yell at the screen "Enough for Christ's sake!" I think I counted 1,374 close-up shots of ugly fucking native island people. That's about 1,370 too many. Once they enter the jungle, the whole movie becomes a video game. Watts would be dead in five minutes between the incessant shots of Kong slinging her back and forth, to the T-Rexes, to the giant bugs, to the giant bats, to the... It never fucking ends! The team of retards from the ship that are trying to find her are even more painful to watch. The scene where they're galloping along under the feet of wall-to-wall dinosaurs in the chasm was so ridiculous I couldn't believe they left it in the movie. All the while there's some ungodly pointless relationship between some kid and another member of the crew that begged to be omitted. About the time of the third excrutiatingly long bug battle scene I wanted to kill myself. Even the scenes that start out exciting are beaten until there's nothing left but quivering pulp. Jackson couldn't just have Kong fight a T-Rex. It had to be two, in the jungle, then on some vines, then in a gorge, then on the ground again... Christ. A movie about a giant monkey is hard enough to believe, but for ugly ass honker nose goon boy Adrien Brody to survive the limitless perils of the island is just insane. They never bother to show how the hell they managed to haul Kong's fat ass on to the ship either. The final act back in NY is by far the best, although by that time I'd had my fill of Kong and just wanted the stupid ape to die. I was just glad that Jackson showed an ounce of restraint and didn't have Kong being attacked by 3,000 airplanes while he's atop the ESB. Jack Black is way out of his depth. Having him try to utter lines as dopey as "Twas beauty killed the beast," was just retarded. After Kong plopped to his death, Black should have ran up and yelled, "Yeah, Sonic fuckin' Death Monkey!"

Aug 9, 2006 13:20:30

Review 4 of 24

1of 4 Stars

"heart-stopping movie epic we've been waiting for all year"? Is Peter Travers shitting me? I couldn't wait to turn this one off.

Every scene felt unrealistic...and I'm not even talking about the dinosaurs and big gorilla - that part I can accept. What I can't accept are exaggerated, over-drawn, and outlandish action scenes. It was all too much for me.

I ended up walking out of the room half way through the movie. It ranks up there with Herbie and Dukes of Hazard for worst movies of 2005.

May 25, 2006 10:30:19

Review 5 of 24

1of 4 Stars

this film is out-dated, way past its expirey date.you would need to be a die hard fan to enjoy this film. amazing special affects but both acting and story line un-satisfactory and just plain boring.

May 9, 2006 12:07:37

Review 6 of 24

4of 4 Stars

Peter Jackson's King Kong is one of the greatest movie-going experiences of my life. It's more than just perfect; it's a visual and cinematic treasure that will live on for generations. Kong is back, and boy is he back all right.

Peter Jackson reminds us that he is a genius. He gives us more spectacles and thrills in three hours then most movies do in a lifetime. But Jackson never loses focus on character and story development. He is the heir to the throne of Steven Spielberg, in being the next great film director of time.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of my favorite films of all time. So, when entering King Kong, I expected the world from Jackson, and he delivered the galaxy.

Jackson starts off with a view of New York City during the Great Depression. It then tells the story of the lying, cheating, and stealing Carl Denham, (the surprisingly creepy Jack Black) a washed-out film director with nothing left to do but to break the rules in hope of a shot at the big time. Fortunately, for him, he discovers a map. This map is the key in shooting his next picture. It is known as Skull Island, where the fate of him and dozens of others will be revealed.

Carl finds Ann Darrow (an Oscar-caliber performance from Naomi Watts), a struggling actress who is looking for stardom. She agrees on the picture but is tricked by Carl saying that the picture will be shot in China. Many of the crew members are unaware of this, as well as playwright/screenwriter Jack Driscoll, who is unwillingly taken on board because he was unable to get off the ship before it set sail.
Kong and Skull Island is not revealed until an hour into the picture. Jackson wants Kong’s presence and first look to be shocking and powerful. And is it ever.

When Skull Island is reached, things start to unfold. Jackson has created the scariest place on earth, with zombies, monsters, dinosaurs, and of course, Kong himself. Its as if hell has been sprouted onto earth.

After meeting natives on the island, Ann is soon captured by them and will soon be sacrificed to Kong. But when Kong sees Ann, he sees beauty; beauty he has never seen before. Ann, scared out of her mind, starts to dance for him to calm him down. We see Kong smile. From this moment, Ann and Kong begin to develop a mysterious and confusing attraction, in which neither one of them understands. Jackson does not use dialogue. He uses emotion. Staring into one another’s eyes, Ann and Kong realize that they are restricted from one another because the world cannot socially accept this.

When Carl’s camera is destroyed, he thinks his career is over. Suddenly, he believes he can take Kong back to New York City, where the world can give him the praise and honor he thinks he so humbly deserves. Carl tricks Ann and Jack (who is in love with Ann) to bring Kong back to the city, where the climax unfolds.

Jackson stays true to the 1933 original and its story. The 2005 King Kong is not just an action-adventure. I mean, of course, it is an action adventure. It is probably the greatest action ever put on screen. But, it is also a touching story of love between Ann Darrow and Kong. There love is forbidden and Jackson creates a powerful experience. I can admit: I laughed-I cried.

King Kong is the best movie of the year and it proves to us that Peter Jackson is one of the greatest directors of all time. Beauty has killed the beast. I am that beast.

May 2, 2006 17:21:43

Review 7 of 24

3of 4 Stars

I liked this movie. Jack Black did a great job in a difficult role. The other actors seemed to deliver. The giant ape seemed to be somewhat portrayed as a toddler that had grown up without a mother -- basically a brat that gets to do whatever he wants, because no one is going to get in his way.

May 1, 2006 14:29:40

Review 8 of 24

2of 4 Stars

Real disappointment. Jack Back was way over the top

Apr 7, 2006 15:30:20

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